I GAME, THEREFORE I AM

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Episode 13 or Why I Love DLC

Hey there fellow Gamers! Today I would like to talk to you about the bane of some gamers existence, and why I, The Irrelevant Gamer, loves Downloadable Content! First, I think we should do some news!

NEWS: Forgot to pre-order the BioWare Signature Edition of Dragon Age 2? Fret not! While you may have missed out on some great exclusives, BioWare is handing out some great stuff to anyone who pre-orders before March 8th including a sweet sword and shield to use in game, as well as a creepy new store! If you are like me and pre-ordered it long ago, you will get all this too! BioWare has also announced that there will be a Mabari war hound included!

Speaking of pre-orders, go to your local game retailer and get Bulletstorm...NOW! If you pre-order this title(Due out 2.22), you get extra armor, a sweet new gun, and oh yeah, GEARS OF WAR 3 BETA ACCESS!! 'Nuff said!

Borderland's Secret Armory of General Knoxx DLC

So you have beaten your favorite game. Sad Panda! No more awesomeness for you! DLC to the rescue! These mini expansions have become commonplace in video games these days. Too common say some gamers. They are not wrong. Some developers and publishers seem to be releasing half-assed games and relying on DLC to complete the story! This is wrong! DLC should compliment games! Take Fallout 3 for example. 100+ hours, an awesome main quest, great combat...a really good game made better with DLC. How? Bethesda released four DLC packs. Each had new areas, weapons and enemies! Dragon Age, with it's 70+ hour quest had like 5 DLC packs AND a full expansion! Liliana's Song let you step into the shoes of the Bard/Rogue while the DarkSpawn Chronicles gave a what-if scenario. These are examples of good DLC. SplinterCell: Conviction is an example of bad DLC. A super short game that just tacked on maps to try and expand on a premise that I was done with after beating the game.

Then, there are PERFECT DLC's. The Sacrifice from Left 4 Dead 1&2. That's right...it worked for both! It brought back the cast of the first game for one more campaign. Another perfect example is Undead Nightmare from Red Dead Redemption. Sure, it was kinda weird putting zombies in the old west, but it was really REALY fun! And then there is the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC from Mass Effect 2.

This awesome piece of DLC, while like all the other great DLCs you don't need it to enjoy the game, actually takes it's origins from the Mass Effect Redemption comic book! It tells the tale of the hunt for Shepard's body. Following Dr. Liara T'soni, this comic explains why she is so obsessed over hunting the Shadow Broker as seen in ME2. If you romanced Liara in ME1, you actually get to rekindle that romance! With a pretty epic boss fight, Lair of the Shadow Broker leads my list of favorite DLC's. I love DLC. So much so, I've decided to drop my new "This is Awesome" seal on some epic DLC. Here's my list of recipients: